Ramnik Xavier

Ramnik Xavier

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

415 Main Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
Tel: 617-714-7080
Email: rxavier@broadinstitute.org

Website: broadinstitute.org/xavier-lab
Lab Size: Between 15 and 20

Summary

The laboratory focuses on systematic characterization of genetic variants to understand the regulation of barrier defense, innate and adaptive immunity; chemical biology to control cellular disease phenotypes suggested by human genetics; molecular mechanisms to determine roles of the microbiome in health and disease; and development of computational approaches to uncover patterns of human and microbial pathway regulation during disease and treatment.

At the Broad Institute, Xavier expands research efforts in immunology and investigations of fundamental questions in human disease biology. These efforts further define the immune processes that play key roles in both healthy and disease states and complement existing programs at the Broad with strong immunologic components, such as those centered on cancer biology, neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions, medical and population genetics, and infectious disease.

Research in the Xavier lab

  • Translates human genetics to functional biology
  • Generates systems-wide maps within the gut that capture immune features and metabolic states at single-cell resolution
  • Determines the influences of the gut microbiome on health and disease using human cohorts and computational models
  • Identifies and places new cellular receptors within pathway biology
  • Leverages chemical biology to test therapeutic hypotheses and inform drug discovery program

Publications

Xu J, Kong L, Oliver BA, et al. Constitutively active autophagy in macrophages dampens inflammation through metabolic and post-transcriptional regulation of cytokine production. Cell Rep. 2023 Jun 30;42(7):112708. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112708. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37392388.

Stražar M, Park J, Abelin JG, et al. HLA-II immunopeptidome profiling and deep learning reveal features of antigenicity to inform antigen discovery. Immunity. 2023 Jun 8:S1074-7613(23)00226-1. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.05.009. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37301199.

Kalam H, Chou CH, Kadoki M, et al. Identification of host regulators of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phenotypes uncovers a role for the MMGT1-GPR156 lipid droplet axis in persistence. Cell Host Microbe. 2023 Jun 14;31(6):978-992.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.05.009. Epub 2023 Jun 2. PMID: 37269834.

Johansen J, Atarashi K, Arai Y, et al. Centenarians have a diverse gut virome with the potential to modulate metabolism and promote healthy lifespan. Nat Microbiol. 2023 Jun;8(6):1064-1078. doi: 10.1038/s41564-023-01370-6. Epub 2023 May 15. PMID: 37188814.

Lee JWJ, Plichta DR, Asher S, et al. Association of distinct microbial signatures with premalignant colorectal adenomas. Cell Host Microbe. 2023 May 10;31(5):827-838.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.04.007. PMID: 37130517.